Blazing Virtual Media Speed for the Dominion KX IV - 101

Jessica Ciesla
August 12, 2020

When we talk about the Dominion KX IV -101 as Raritan’s fastest KVM-over-IP switch, we are usually focused on its ability to support 4K video or 1080p video at 60 frames per second. But video isn’t the only area where the KX IV-101 shines!  Due to its all-digital architecture and its direct USB connection to the target computer, the KX IV-101 supports virtual media much faster than our current generation Dominion KX III switches.  

Virtual media is a powerful, productivity-enhancing feature that enables a user to mount media such as USB drives, DVDs, ISO images on a remote computer and transfer files, install software, even boot a new operating system.

We have recently done some additional performance tests on the KX IV - 101 virtual media performance.  These tests have shown that the virtual media performance can be as high as 175 megabits per second.  That is more than 15 times faster than our current Dominion III switches. This high rate of speed was achieved under the following conditions:

•    Writing data from a USB drive mounted on the user’s laptop/PC/user station to the remote computer over a standard LAN connection
•    Maximum speed was achieved with encryption turned off
•    Use of a high-speed PC/laptop using the VKC or AKC KVM Clients
•    Use of the Dominion KX IV User Station

Changes from the conditions above may result in variations in virtual media speed.  For example, we have seen that turning on encryption, while more secure, will result in slower virtual media speeds. This due to the additional processing required on both ends of the TCP/IP-based KVM-over-IP connection.  In addition, a slow PC or laptop will reduce the virtual media speed.  Speed was best using the VKC (Java) and AKC (Microsoft .NET) KVM Clients, as well as with the new KX IV User Station.  We have seen some variation with various USB drives; in general, a modern USB drive will perform best, and speed could be lower depending on the network connection.

But in almost all cases, the Dominion KX IV - 101 will provide significantly faster virtual media performance than our previous generation products, which provides additional productivity for our customers.

Learn more here.